Hot and Bothered
by Midnight Raptor
Summary: After dealing with the sexual harrassment accusations, Thirteen's feeling a bit frustrated with men. What happens when Chase manages to get caught in the crossfire? Chase/Thirteen friendship, romance if you squint. Set after "Remorse" One-shot. Complete.


A/N: Wow. So, this has been sitting in my computer, unfinished, since June. I had a giant writer's block about halfway through and just now found the inspiration to get over it. Anyways, this is a little Chase/Thirteen story I cooked up set after "Remorse". I love the idea of Chase and Thirteen developing this great friendship/relationship and it seemed like they were really pushing it towards the end of last season. They seem really comfortable with each other and Jesse and Olivia have amazing chemistry. I'm really hoping the writers explore that this season as soon as Olivia gets back. Anyways, please read and review! :)

Disclaimer: House, sadly, doesn't belong to me. I just own this scene. :)

Hot and Bothered

He hates pulling the short straw.

Stepping out of Valerie's patient room, he rubs his neck in a futile attempt to soothe the knots that had formed during the past 12 hours. As always, the chelation had needed monitoring to ensure that none of the unpleasant but rare side-effects made an appearance. Foreman had let out an exasperated sigh and said he had to catch up on charting, Taub had mumbled something about meeting his wife for dinner, and Thirteen wasn't allowed to be with the patient. Cornered, he had no choice and the task was given to him.

Fortunately, his three hours of babysitting have now ended and he whisks away from the patient floors without a second glance back.

Ten minutes later, bundled in his overcoat and scarf, he makes his way down to the ground floor, eager to get away from the hospital for the day. The elevator doors slide open and he steps out into the lobby, its usual horde of people whittled away to just a few stragglers.

Ahead of him, the doors of the clinic swing open and a weary-looking Thirteen steps outs. He cocks his head.

"I thought you went home already."

Surprised, she turns, her bright green eyes finding his blue ones. With his boyish looks, easy smile, and of course killer accent, she could hardly blame the female population of the hospital for literally throwing themselves at him.

She shrugs. "Just dealing with some stubborn clinic patients."

"The clinic's closed."

"That's why they're stubborn."

He smiles as he falls into step next to her and she can't help but notice the way the corners of his eyes crinkle when he does.

"How's Valerie?" she asks more for something to talk about than actual concern. Hell, the woman accused her of sexual harassment so excuse her for not putting the bitch on her Christmas list.

It's Chase's turn to shrug. "She's fine. Chelation seems to be taking effect." Reaching the entrance, he steps aside to hold the door open for her. "She should be out of our hair in a few days."

Scoffing, she steps out into the cold January night and instinctively pulls her pea coat tighter around herself. When Chase returns to her side, she's grateful for the extra warmth that radiates from his own body.

They walk in silence for a moment as they make their way to the parking lot and the security of their cars. He knows she parked near him today, having caught sight of her dark gray Audi as he was circling around to find a space and is pleased that they're heading in the same direction.

"Did you hear back from the medical board?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "No. Cuddy offered me a lawyer in case they do."

There's a beat of silence. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

_Typical Thirteen_, he muses. Knowing she won't budge on the subject, he drops it.

They continue walking, her eyes fixed on a point on the snow covered ground. "Can I ask you something?"

He lifts a shoulder in a shrug. "Sure."

"Why didn't you think there was something different about her?"

"What? You mean before she turned out to be a psychopath?" he answers, not bothering to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"When else could I be talking about?" she snaps, slightly annoyed.

Noting her tone, he sobers. "I don't know…We had no reason to think she was what she was."

"Because she was hot?"

"Oh, come on."

"It's a simple question."

He gives an exaggerated shrug. "So she was hot. Took us a little longer to put the pieces together but we solved the case."

"You don't see the problem in that?" She knows she's picking a fight where there never was one to begin with but she can't help it. She needs to take her frustration about the last few days out on something, anything.

"In what?"

"That's exactly my point. That time could've meant the difference between her bleeding out of every orifice and being discharged before she managed to wrap you all around her finger."

"I doubt—"

"Men are always hung up on the physical. Ask them what they find most attractive about a woman and 9 times out of 10 it's a physical characteristic. You're always judging and eyeing like if you look away for a split second you'll miss the next hottest piece to come strolling in front of you. It's ridiculous. What's worse is that society eventually caught on. So, now you've effectively influenced girls of all ages to dress, look, and act a certain way. I mean, did it ever occur to you that beauty isn't necessarily a physical thing? That there are some of us with more things to offer other than our looks?" She reaches the end of her rant, thoroughly exhausted by her effort in taking out her frustration, and turns to look at him. Somehow, they've arrived at her car but the fact seems to go unnoticed by both of them.

There's lengthy pause. Taken completely off guard by her outburst, Chase stands there, still processing how on earth they managed to get on this subject.

"You know, we're not all complete prats." he says in a weak attempt to defend his gender. "Not all the time anyway."

He looks down at her. She's tired, distressed, and frustrated as hell but considering the past few days she's had, he can hardly blame her. He hasn't been all that close to her despite the fact that they've known each other for the past three years but they've developed a comfortable friendship and he hates to see her like this.

"But for what it's worth," he offers quietly. "you're way more beautiful that she is." His sudden confession startles both of them. Of course, he thought she was stunning. A blind man could pick up on that fact. But there was something else about her, something behind those guarded, green eyes and cautious smile, that made him want to figure her out.

Snow flakes have begun to fall, soft fluffy pieces resting lightly on her beanie and the long brown hair escaping it. She's looking up at him with challenging curiosity but he holds her gaze steadily. Damning the possible consequences to hell, he leans forward and presses his lips lightly upon hers.

For a second, she just stands there, frozen. Robert Chase, her co-worker, friend, and recent divorcé was kissing her. However, the initial shock soon wears off and she finds herself kissing him back. Somewhere in the part of her brain that isn't focused on her current task, she makes a note that he tastes faintly of the peppermint candy canes he's been chewing on that had been left over from Christmas.

The kiss is short and sweet and all too soon he pulls back, his breath coming in short puffs of condensed air. He looks at her for a moment longer, his gentle blue eyes unreadable, before turning and walking away.

She watches his retreating form as her brain returns to normal activity.

"You wanna talk about that?" she calls out to his back.

He turns but continues walking away backwards. He smiles, slow, mischievous, playful. "Not particularly."

They lock eyes for a moment, his blue and teasing, hers green and baffled. Still smiling, he turns back around and makes for his car, pleased with how things turned out.

Dropping her gaze, she allows a small smile of her own to grace her lips. Then, after taking one last look at his retreating form, she shakes her head and gets in her car.

* * *

A/N: I really meant this to be canon in a sense that the kiss doesn't make them all awkward with each other and they go back to work like the friends they were before. Chase just wanted her to feel even just a little bit better about her day so he kisses her (which, if I was her, would definitely make me feel better XD ) But what'd you think? Let me know, please. I love hearing your thoughts. :)


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